Sustainable Traffic, Transport and Parking Plan (STTPP) – One of the Major Manifesto Commitments of the GSLP/Liberal Government
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Sustainable Traffic, Transport and Parking Plan (STTPP) March 2017 [this page has been left blank intentionally Gibraltar Sustainable Traffic, Transport and Parking Plan 310595 ITD ITQ 001 E C:\Users\fin34897\Downloads\010216_STTPP_Main Document_Final Version September 2016 docx September 2016 Final Document Gibraltar Sustainable Traffic, Transport and Parking Plan Final Document March 2017 HM Government of Gibraltar Suite 735, Europort Gibraltar Mott MacDonald, Mott MacDonald House, 8-10 Sydenham Road, Croydon CR0 2EE, United Kingdom T +44 (0)20 8774 2000 F +44 (0)20 8681 5706 W www.mottmac.com Gibraltar Sustainable Traffic, Transport and Parking Plan Final Document I am delighted to introduce Gibraltar’s Sustainable Traffic, Transport and Parking Plan (STTPP) – one of the major manifesto commitments of the GSLP/Liberal Government. I truly believe that making these important changes to the way we move around the Rock are the future if we want to safeguard the environment, encourage a healthier lifestyle and enjoy the benefits of greater traffic flow. Work in this area started some time ago when Gibraltar introduced the free bus service to encourage users to leave their own vehicles at home, thereby decongesting our roads and reducing the effects of pollution. I am happy to see there has been a steady increase in users of this service. We will continue this work with the imminent introduction of Redibikes, our bicycle hire scheme, giving users another option of sustainable transport that provides added health benefits. The Government is determined to reduce the impact of transport operations on the environment. With this in mind, we will move towards procuring more electric and hybrid vehicles for Government departments, where possible. My own official car, G1, is electric. Others will follow. The health of our nation is also my concern. Using alternative transport, such as cycling, or by walking, as I do to work daily, helps promote a better wellbeing. In Gibraltar, we have the advantage that most distances between points are relatively short. There is often no need to jump in a car or hop on a motorbike to get to our destination. By taking the healthier alternative, we are also encouraging our children to do the same. It is vital that they become aware now of how changes to the way we move will improve their world in the future. Gibraltar Sustainable Traffic, Transport and Parking Plan Final Document The STTPP is a real plan – an all-encompassing plan. It is an authoritative and well-researched document covering all aspects of the effects that transport will have on our lives and our environment. It is also a plan that will evolve with us, just as our lifestyles evolve. This is a plan that should be embraced by us all as it is important for Gibraltar, its economy and our health. I would like to thank those who have worked towards producing this plan for our future and I thank you for reading it and the interest you have shown in becoming a part of its development. The Hon. Fabian Picardo MP Chief Minister of Gibraltar Gibraltar Sustainable Traffic, Transport and Parking Plan Final Document It gives me great pleasure to be able to present HM Government of Gibraltar’s, Sustainable Traffic, Transport and Parking Plan (STTPP). This project is a key manifesto commitment for the GSLP / Liberal Government. A study of this magnitude has never been conducted locally with regards to Traffic and Transport together with its effects on our environment as a whole in a way that is scientific and solid in its grounding. The Plan has seen a multi-departmental team approach involving the Ministries of Infrastructure and Planning, (Traffic & Transport) and the Environment. The research and preparatory background for this extensive document has seen many months of painstaking groundwork and research, something which I am eternally grateful to those within the Traffic Team, the Technical Services Department, the Department of Education and other members of the Civil Service for, who embarked on weeks of data collection, questionnaires and surveys to be able to provide the basal statistics required for such a plan. The work has encompassed a very wide consultation process across the board. Opinions and feedback was sought from a wide sector of the community including, members of the public, NGO’s, commercial entities and associations, Tenant’s Associations, other interest groups, schoolchildren, essential services and of course the road user, often each with competing interests. Our Traffic Consultants Mott MacDonald who are world-wide professionals in this field have provided the technical expertise to complement the wealth of professional knowledge that already existed within the Technical Services Department and have been instrumental. The Plan has considered everything from the needs of children and vulnerable groups within our society to the needs of businesses and visitors alike. No plan will ever be able to satisfy every Gibraltar Sustainable Traffic, Transport and Parking Plan Final Document sectors’ interests and there will be a need to find many happy mediums going forward. Key improvements in the use of public transport will no doubt provide a more reliable service with improved journey times and higher levels of punctuality, which I am certain, will be welcomed by its users. No stone has been left unturned in order to formulate a plan that we will be proudly able to call our own, Gibraltar’s Plan, your plan. Using the most innovative and latest techniques we have developed the tools by means of digital traffic modelling to help us predict the reaction and behavior of traffic following a proposal for change. That is, we may now start to analyse what effect a proposed change will be likely to have with respect to traffic flow before we even carry it out. This plan is clearly a live document, one that will evolve and grow with us. As Gibraltar grows and our needs change, so will it too. It is our intention that the Plan be a fluid plan, one that is malleable to our needs. I am personally satisfied that this has been in fact achieved and that all the work done will see a truly valuable result that we can all be proud of. Not all the concepts within the Plan will be achievable, some will require further work, others may be economically unviable and others may simply never come to be, at least not at this moment in time. But the Plan will hopefully open our minds to the vast potential that exists for improvement, and for the need to change our mindsets in the future. But, change is change, and human nature does not adapt easily to change at first. With time, I trust that we as a Community will all be able to appreciate the bigger picture and will begin to understand that things have to change if we are to make inroads into our health, our environment and our wellbeing making Gibraltar an attractive place to live, work, visit and do business in, in the future. The plan is hence, simply that, a plan. There are general principles, aims and targets set, and ideas for potential pilot schemes for us to explore, some relatively inexpensive to carry out, others more ambitious. This is by no means a finite list and we will be developing further ideas and plans in the future as we evolve as a people. Traffic and its management is not an exact science but our ideas, we believe will be exciting, brave and innovative. With time, it will hopefully change the way that we live so that we can improve sustainability. Gibraltar has an extremely high vehicle occupancy rate per capita, yet our largest constraint is our size. Reducing our reliance on private transport, our beloved cars and motorbikes, will be one of the hardest things to achieve but through encouragement, education and perseverance perhaps we may be able to achieve a change in the way that we move. By sharing vehicles, either by means of our buses, public services or through other more innovative ideas such as car- sharing for example, we may be able to evolve. We cannot forget the importance of walking and cycling with regards to our traffic and our environment but also the undeniable and positive effect that it has on our general health, fitness and physique. Changing our mindset, especially one that spans so many generations, when our cars were an extension of our very own living room, our only means of independence and freedom, our “rite of passage” at a time when many generations shared one single flat will be one of the most Gibraltar Sustainable Traffic, Transport and Parking Plan Final Document challenging hurdles to overcome. This is something that will task our generation and those in the future. As science develops so too will our means of local travel. Already we are seeing how hybrid and electric vehicles are slowly becoming more prominent in our society and we need to further encourage the use of these. I greatly value and appreciate the public support that we have received so far and sincerely hope that we will continue to have the same support as we now embark on the next stage of the plan, its implementation in earnest. The Hon. Paul J. Balban MP Minister for Infrastructure and Planning Gibraltar Sustainable Traffic, Transport and Parking Plan Final Document Our quality of life and our health are hugely influenced by what we do with transport. While the use of vehicles clearly improves our mobility and hence our access to work, services and recreation, emissions from burning fuel just as clearly adversely affect our health.